Go Spotty: A huge success

The wonderful team of fundraisers at Competenz

On Friday 17th of November thousands of New Zealanders went ‘spotty’ to raise awareness of melanoma –a disease that affects so many people in this country every year. “We want to get people in the community thinking about melanoma and checking their skin for ‘spots’ or signs that could save lives” says Melanoma NZ Event Manager, Megan Rees

People from around the country were encouraged to wear spots to school or work for the day. Participants ranged from dance studios and Auckland Council workers through to Pilates instructors and graphic designers.

A gold coin donation for all 'Go Spotty' participants was donated to support Melanoma NZ’s ongoing work to prevent avoidable deaths. New Zealand has the highest melanoma incidence rate in the world. Every year over 300 New Zealanders die from melanoma and there are 4000 new diagnoses. These are shocking statistics for a cancer that is largely preventable. More people die of melanoma than on NZ roads. It is known that with more awareness, better prevention and earlier detection, fewer kiwis will die from this mainly avoidable disease.

“I shared a SunSmart presentation with the whole school yesterday and we discussed Go Spotty Day. It was heart-warming this morning to walk into a class of 5yr olds and see them independently applying sunblock and putting on their sunglasses and hat before going out to play at 8.45am!” said Deputy Principal, Jo Thorburn from Upper Harbour Primary School. Jo Thorburn has been personally affected by melanoma as her mother passed away earlier this year from this disease. She knows the importance of prevention and early detection. The school was featured on Newshub (it's 11.24 minutes into the linked video).

Thank you so much to everyone involved, we really appreciate all of your hard work and energy.